Answer: No, some Alba Botanica products contain non-vegan ingredients. However, they are certified to be cruelty-free.
The cosmetics and make-up industry have been called out by the vegan community as most of them include animal products. Some would even test their products on animals. So many vegans wonder— is Alba Botanica vegan?
Even though Alba Botanica does not test on animals, they still have products that contain non-vegan ingredients. In this article, we will discuss everything about Alba Botanica and some vegan alternatives.
Let’s dive right in!
Table of Contents
What Is Alba Botanica?
Alba Botanica is a skincare company that offers products for hair, body, face, and sun protection. From facial cleaners to pimple patches, Alba Botanica is surely a brand you can consider.
Actually, all of Alba Botanica’s products are plant-based. However, there are some non-vegan ingredients, such as honey and beeswax, that are also incorporated into them. They also use glycerin, but they have cleared in their website that this is vegetable-based.
Aside from being plant-based, Alba Botanica also helps in reducing environmental problems through their recycled packaging. Aside from this, Alba Botanica is a certified animal cruelty-free company, which means that they don’t test their products on animals.
Overall, Alba Botanica is not 100% vegan. However, it still contributes to the greater cause of taking care of animals and the environment. Don’t worry because there are certainly Alba Botanica products that are suitable for vegans.
Is Alba Botanica Vegan?
Again, most Alba Botanica products are vegan-friendly. However, some products contain non-vegan ingredients. These products are, namely:
- Lip Balms and Lip Glosses – contain beeswax
- Hawaiian Smoothing Sugar Cane Body Polish – includes honey as an ingredient
- Unpetroleum Jelly – contains beeswax
If you ever come across these products, make sure to avoid them. Let’s discuss each product and why they are considered not good for your vegan skin care.
Beeswax In Alba Botanica’s Products
Two of Alba Botanica’s products contain beeswax. These are their lip balms and their unpetroleum jelly. Beeswax is the wax-like substance that the bees produce to build their honeycombs. This allows bees to have storage for their honey.
There have been several incident reports of animal cruelty in beekeeping. And this includes the extraction of beeswax. Beeswax is part of their honey-making process, and extracting them disrupts their natural ways of living.
Vegans would most likely condemn this behavior as corporations profit from unjust practices in extracting products from animals. Hence, vegans do not patronize products from companies that practice such means.
Honey In Alba Botanica’s Products
Honey is one of the most debated ingredients in the vegan community. This is because some believe that animal cruelty is happening around how bees are treated in their manufacturing process.
While some would argue that honey is just a by-product, and technology has evolved in harvesting honey, bees wouldn’t be harmed. However, it is to be taken note of that there are still companies that do traditional beekeeping.
Also, there are incident reports about beekeepers trying to remove the queen bee’s wings to prevent the migration of the colony. This is something the vegan community is strictly against.
With all the arguments circulating around if honey is vegan or not, it boils down to your personal preference in the end. We can never truly know if the corporation is harming the bees, so stressing yourself about it will just tire you up.
Remember that being vegan is already an impactful step in bringing change to the world.
If you’ve decided to cross out honey in your vegan ingredient list, you should avoid purchasing Alba Botanica’s Hawaiian Smoothing Sugar Cane Body Polish.
Is Alba Botanica Cruelty-Free?
Aside from being plant-based, Alba Botanica also ensures that they do not test their products on innocent animals. As part of ensuring that this would happen, they avoid building manufacturing centers in countries or states that legalize animal testing (e.g., China).
In support of this claim, Alba Botanica is certified by the Leaping Bunny. Leaping Bunny certification ensures that the company, including its third-party manufacturers, is not practicing cruel acts on animals.
Thus, this ensures that every process of how Alba Botanica’s products are being manufactured is made with utmost care and protection towards animals.
Is Alba Botanica Environmental Friendly?
Alba Botanica commits to being a leading brand that promotes environmental friendliness, especially with their packaging. They develop ways to make their packaging biodegradable. More interestingly, they also produce a sunscreen that is biodegradable as well.
However, Alba Botanica may come from plastic packaging. But, they ensure that all their bottles are made with completely post-consumer resin. Also, they are using FSC-certified cardboard in their product cartons.
Hence, buying products in Alba Botanica does not only ensure that you’re supporting an animal cruelty-free brand but a company that promotes a sustainable and innovative ways in protecting the environment.
What Other Ingredients Should I Look Out For When Buying Cosmetic Products?
Now that you’ve learned that honey and beeswax can be incorporated in cosmetic products, let us discuss other ingredients that you should be wary of when buying them.
Shellac
Shellac is an animal product that can be found in several cosmetic brands. This is extracted from Asian beetles. Manufacturers are harvesting them from the bark of trees and using them in different skin care formulas.
Luckily, Alba Botanica does not use any shellac in their products.
Casein
Casein is extracted from milk, mostly from sheep or cow. Hence, this is totally not a vegan ingredient as it is an animal product. Alba Botanica does not include any casein in their products.
Squalene
Squalene can be found in the oil of shark liver. So, this is not totally vegan-friendly. While many cosmetics use this as an ingredient, Alba Botanica is 100% plant-based.
Lanolin
Lanolin is a component of a sheep’s wool. Aside from it came from an animal, lots of cruel practices are reported in extracting this component. Luckily, Alba Botanica is not using this in their products.
Guanine
Guanine is a common ingredient among household skin products, like shampoo, nail polish, eyeshadow, and lipstick. This is not a vegan ingredient as it comes from fish. Fortunately, Alba Botanica does not include this in their manufacturing products.
There are certainly more non-vegan ingredients that you should look out for when buying cosmetic products. Here is a comprehensive list that will explain and discuss everything for you.
Which Cosmetic Brands Are 100% Vegan Friendly?
If you’re feeling uncomfortable in purchasing Alba Botanica’s products upon knowing that they have some non-vegan products, here are some of the 100% vegan-friendly cosmetic brands that you can try:
Pacifica Beauty
Pacifica Beauty is a popular 100% vegan cosmetic brand. All of their products are plant-based and safe for vegans. They are PETA certified and do not also test their products on animals. They are known for their foam wash, hydro mist, BB cream, and more!
Cover FX
According to their website, Cover FX is PETA certified and 100% vegan. Moreover, they try also to be conscious about the environment as they manufacture their products without paraben, gluten, and fragrance.
Cover FX is known for their makeup products such as concealer, foundations, highlighters, and the like.
Acure Organics
Acure Organics does not use any animal product nor use animals as their testing subjects. Hence, they are 100% vegan friendly. They use plant-based, natural ingredients in formulating their cosmetic products.
They are mostly known for their skincare and hair products.
Derma E
Not only does Derma E ensure that they do not include any animal products nor do they test on animals, but they also make sure that their packaging is made in an ethical and environmentally friendly way.
Hence, using Derma E would be hitting two birds with one stone— you get to be vegan while also protecting the environment. Here is a Derma E page dedicated to their very vegan ingredient list.
Alba Botanica Is Not 100% Vegan Friendly
If you’re looking for a cosmetic brand that is 100% vegan, Alba Botanica may not be the one you’re looking for. As mentioned above, they use beeswax in two of their products and honey in one.
If you can tolerate these non-vegan ingredients, then you might give Alba Botanica a try. Also, the rest of their products are all vegan and plant-based, so you can enjoy them fully.
More importantly, Alba Botanica is cruelty-free. This means that they prioritize the life of innocent animals and do not take advantage of them just for the sake of earning a profit.
So, if you want to achieve a skincare routine that fits your vegan principles, you know Alba Botanica can somehow help you with their vegan products. If not so, there are 100% vegan cosmetic products, like those mentioned above.
Does this article help you out in knowing Alba Botanica better? Leave a comment down below and let’s talk more about it!
